Mentor Graphics' hardware/software coverification methodology permits top-down refinement of hardware design to process software more efficiently. Seamless CVE provides both hardware and software designers an unprecedented view of system designs prior to building physical prototypes. Software designers can take advantage of the early availability of run-time libraries and behavioral-level models for validation of softwareagainst hardware early in the design process. With Seamless CVE, interface errors between hardware and software are detected earlier in the design cycle, when fixes are dramatically less costly and time-consuming.

The C166 processor architecture, devised by Siemens, implements on a single chip high computing capacity, high-speed event processing, and modular, autonomous peripheral units. These high-end solutions offer the kind of performance that used to be the province of much more elaborate devices and are a ready match for complex real-time demands.

The Seamless/Siemens C166 Processor Support Package is being sold for $30,000 by Mentor Graphics' Codesign Business Unit. Support for Sun Solaris workstations is provided.